Calling on the Past
by bendthefuckouttathatwater
Summary: \\TITLE CHANGE/ Mako finds Korra getting ready to leave for the Harmonic Convergence by herself and he desperately tries to let her know that she isn't alone. \\Chap.2/ Korra wakes up to find that Mako was with her all along. 2-Shot
1. I Can't

**Title:** "I Can't"

**Characters/Pairing:** Makorra

**Rating:** PG

**Genre:** Angst

**Word Count:** 1.479

**A/N:** So, this was the best way I could get out my frustrations with what happened in the latest episode. It actually helped. Not sure what you guys will get out of it, but go ahead and read. Anyway, there might be a sweeter companion piece to this in the near future.

* * *

A gust of wind hit Mako full force as soon as he exited the small igloo he was sharing with Bolin, and he pulled his scarf up to protect his face from the bitter cold. He still couldn't get used to this. No matter how many winter nights he slept outside in Republic City, it couldn't compare to the numbing winds that blustered through the Water Tribes.

His body kept telling him to go back inside and wrap himself in the numerous blankets and sleeping bags they had brought, but there had been a sound of someone moving that had brought him out of his shallow sleep and he couldn't help but feel like something was wrong.

"Korra, what are you doing?" Mako's voice trembled.

Before him stood the girl in question, her back turned to him as she finished saddling up her Polar bear dog. She didn't turn when she heard his voice, just fiddled with the bag strapped to Naga's back.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Korra sounded more focused than anything, but he could still sense a note of bitterness in her voice that she tried to hold back. "The Harmonic Convergence is today and I am getting ready to leave."

"By yourself?" Mako's mouth dropped. Did she seriously think that she could just sneak off to face what was to be her most dangerous battle yet, while Mako and the others slept, completely unaware that she ran off alone?

"It's my duty and there's nothing any of you can do. I don't see the need to bring everyone else into the spirit world just to get hurt." Korra replied without any waver in her voice. Once again she had made up her mind and had every intention to do things this way.

It was driving him nuts that she refused to turn around and talk to him face to face. Her feet were still firmly pressed into the snow and her back was like an impenetrable wall that stood defiant to his silent pleas to look at him. He knew that he was never going to get through to her if he couldn't look at her in the eyes.

"Just because it's your job doesn't mean that you have to do this alone. We came all this way so we can help you, so let us."

She scoffed and turned her head slightly, still not enough to see her face. "Sorry if you wasted your time coming _all the way_ here, but I don't need your help."

Shit, she was stubborn.

"Korra, that's not what I meant and you know it. You know why we came and you know that we care about you. So why don't you tell me what your lone wolf act is all about?"

"What are you even talking about?"

"You had no problem with me and Bolin tagging along before." Mako paused for a moment, careful about what he was going to say next, but when nothing easily came to him; he decided to go straight to the point. "Then you heard about what happened with me and Asami and now you are pulling away."

"That has nothing to do with it." Korra raised her voice until she was able to catch herself, and then she retreated back to her calm demeanor. "We broke up and you can be with whoever you want. I am not going to let something like that get in the way of what I am meant to do."

He was surprised at this. This 'I really couldn't care less' attitude was so unlike her that he had no immediate response. But he could see where she was struggling. There was a small tell hidden in the way she slowly brought down her chin and all he wanted to do was run up to her, hold her, and convince her that everything was going to work itself out.

He didn't though. Mako remained in his place a few yards behind her; a distance that felt entirely too large.

"We're not together you know." Mako offered. "We were never officially back together. I was- I was just confused…."

"You seem to get confused a lot."

"I was hurting, Korra. I was starting to regret letting you go and I was angry that I couldn't get myself to accept what I did. I didn't mean for it, but I just desperately grasped for any distraction I could get; anything to make it better."

With this, she finally turned around, her wolf tails moving rapidly in the wind. The silence that hung over them was agonizing, but he waited. He knew that she had something to say, so he was going to let her get it out, whatever it was. Watching her in this moment was like watching water boil. Slow and steady until her emotions started to bubble over her detached presence, and the only feeling she had to give was fury.

"No!" Korra shouted back.

"No?" His eyebrows shot up, dumbfounded.

"No, you don't get to do that!" She quickly closed the distance between them, her feet slamming so hard into the ground he could swear that she was earthbending the rocks below them. "You don't get to break up with me, go and kiss your ex-girlfriend, and come back to say that it was all because of me. You don't get to use me OR Asami like that." She jabbed her pointer finger painfully against his chest, her eyes blazing and dark. "You don't get to forget that I was in just as much pain as you were! And I was alone!"

"I know, and I'm sorry! I don't know what else to say!" Mako shouted back. He didn't mean to, but he just felt so frustrated and desperate. None of this anger was meant to be directed at Korra. It was for himself. Mako couldn't stand that he hurt her and he might not ever forgive himself for it. But he knew that he would never forgive himself if he let her fight alone either. With the chances of her not coming back being more than worrisome, every bone in his body shook with fear. "All I can do is make sure that you make it through this fight. I am not going to let you go off by yourself."

As quickly as she made her way toward him, she moved just as quickly when she gave him a view of her back once again and returned to Naga.

"You're going to have to" She said as she mounted the large polar bear dog and took hold of the reigns.

"Please, Korra." There were tears in his eyes now. How_ -how- _could he make her see? How could he make her know that he wasn't going to give up? "You need to know that I love you and I am going to stand by you."

She offered him another look, but it only lasted a second before she said "You may think you love me, but I can't love you. Not right now. Not anymore." Before he could say anything else in response, she gave Naga a tug, urging her to go, and suddenly Korra was gone.

He lost. They lost.

Just as Mako felt like falling apart, something occurred to him. It wasn't 'I _don't_', it was 'I_ can't_.' The moment those words rang in his head he was brought back to the time when she first struck him with it. The circumstances had been very different, but he could tell that the feelings behind it were similar. When he told her he loved her - not the Avatar, but _Korra _- she ran away. After losing her bending, she felt her self-worth plummet to new depths and was expected to be abandoned in the fallout.

Now she felt abandoned because of what he had done. He chose his job over Korra and her tribe. Even though she expressed how she understood as soon as she came back, the knowledge that he had turned to Asami so quickly immediately thrust her back into that feeling of being alone. So that's how she was going into this battle. Whether or not she loved him, Korra didn't trust his words of loyalty anymore. She couldn't say 'I love you' back because she was cutting her reliance on him.

He knew he had to fix it.

Mako returned inside the igloo and yanked the covers off his brother. "Come on, Bolin. We have to go after Korra."

Working through their relationship wasn't the most important thing right now. Being there for her was. Mako didn't need an 'I love you' or an 'I forgive you', he needed her alive. And she needed to know that she will never have to feel alone again. He wasn't going to let her isolate herself over his stupid mistakes.


	2. Still Here

**A/N:** Here it is. The companion piece to "I can't". Sweeter and more hopefull than the last one. Thank you to those who followed/faved, and of course thank you to all who left the wonderful comments. I wouldn't have written this if it wasn't for you. :)

* * *

When Korra awoke, she was greeted by an environment drastically different then the place she had been last. With her eyes still closed, she took in a deep breath and noted the warmth that filled her lungs. The air wasn't as pure as it was in the Water Tribe, and she could smell the faint scent of flowers blooming. She recognized this scent as the gusts of wind blew in more of the sweet aroma into the room. It brought her back to the nights she used to sit at her bedroom window in Air Temple Island and take in the beautiful sights of the city, forever amazed by the lights and sounds she failed to find anywhere else. She remembered her eyes always fixed on the glowing golden building, which held a boy staring back at her; even if she never knew it.

To her right she heard a gentle cough coming from someone who was obviously trying not to disturb her. It was then that she finally opened her eyes and saw Mako sitting in a chair next to her bed, his arms crossed and his head hanging low as he was barely awake. There was a bandage wrapped securely around his head and a large bruise coloring his right cheek. Instinctively, Korra wanted to reach out and trace her fingers over the areas he'd been hurt, but opted for whispering his name so she wouldn't startle him.

"Mmm- Mako?" Her voice was still froggy from sleep and she cleared her throat in an attempt to get it back to normal.

Mako's head quickly shot up and eyes widened upon seeing her starting to sit up. "Hey, you're finally awake." He said quietly with a small smile appearing on the corner of his mouth. With her left arm in a sling, Korra pushed weekly into the matrass as she tried to scoot her bottom closer to the wall at the head of her bed. "Hey, take it easy." Mako stood up briefly and put his arms out to try to help her move, but she calmly waved him off and he sat back down.

"I can do it. I'll be alright." Korra assured him. "Ummmmm…" She looked over her surroundings, confirming to herself that she was indeed at her previous home on Air Temple Island. "How long was I unconscious?" She asked with a raised eyebrow. "It must have been quite a while if we made it all the way back to Republic City?"

"You were in and out for a few days."

"Oh?"

"I'm not surprised you don't remember ever being awake. You weren't entirely present and you were only up long enough for us to get some water into you." Mako explained.

Korra took a moment to look him over again. She could tell by the dark circles under his eyes and the way his back hunched, he was incredibly tired. Yet he was awake and sitting in what looked to be like a very uncomfortable chair. It pained her to see him like this. Especially after the hit he took for her.

_Korra was delivering one blow after another to try and take Unalaq down, but even with the energy of her Avatar State guiding her, he still managed to keep himself standing no matter what element she hurled at him. Somehow after she narrowly escaped a spear of ice that had been sent her way, Korra lost her footing and fell hard into a pile of snow, a loud crack sound coming from her arm as she tried to catch herself. As Korra hastily tried to pick herself back up she saw her uncle had been readying another attack that had been meant to take her out. Being thrown off her guard, she was afraid that she didn't have enough time to avoid it. This, right here and now, after all the determination and energy she put into winning, could very possibly be her end. How could she let him get the upper hand? She fought with everything she had to quickly collect herself and get back in the game. With a burst of fire from her good hand, she hoped that it was enough to stop the swarm of icicles that were sure to make their way toward her but, to Korra's surprise, the attack never came._

_When she withdrew her fire, she saw her enemy looking in the opposite direction. The back of Unalaq's coat had been singed black, in area she knew she hadn't gotten him with one of her own flames. He momentarily detached his focus from Korra and directed it toward the firebender responsible. _

_There was Mako, eyebrows furrowed in anger, and a stance that was ready for a fight. He had been there all along, probably fighting off the dark spirits that circled around the icy field. She was wondering why the spirits hadn't intervened the entire time she was there and couldn't believe she didn't noticed his presence until now._

"_Mako!" She called out as he dodged the water whips extending from Unalaq's arms. They came one after another until one finally hit him and sent flying off to the side, hitting his head against a rock and knocking him unconscious. Korra cried out for him again, but there was nothing she could do because Unalaq returned his attention to her once again._

_The sight of Mako's blood against the white snow stirred a bout of rage deep within the spirit that glowed inside her._

Anything that happened after that, she can't remember.

"Wha-what happened? Unalaq, did he….?"

"It's okay Korra, you stopped him. I wasn't exactly awake to see it, so you would have to ask the others for details, but you stopped him from combining his energies with Vatuu."

"What about everyone else? Jinora? Did we get her back?" Korra felt like she was talking a mile a minute, but she couldn't help it. She needed answers. Luckily, Mako was more the willing to provide them.

"She's safe. Everyone made it back. You were the one to take the biggest hit."

"A-and, and what about you? You're hurt. You haven't been here…." She started to ask, but she's pretty sure that she knew the answer based on his appearance. "… this entire time, have you?"

He parted his lips like he was about to say something and the quickly closed his mouth again.

_That was a yes._

"I just needed to make sure you were okay." He answered after a few beats of silence. He averted his eyes like there was some part of him that was ashamed of something, but then he continued. "I know that you said you didn't need me, but I had to be here. For you."

He's done this before. When Mako and the others found Korra after she'd escaped from Tarrlok and Amon, he scooped her up into his arms and held her like he had never been happier to see someone alive. Then he stayed by her side all night as she rested, even though he knew by then that she'd be alright. After all the time he spent looking for her, all the fear he had about never seeing her again, Mako couldn't leave her side. At the time, knowing that made Korra feel safe. It made her feel like to this boy she had been beginning to think could never love her, she was more important than she had originally thought. Korra can't believe that she let herself forget about that.

A few tears stung Korra's eyes and she wanted so desperately to wipe them away, but she just gazed at him with raw, uncontrollable, emotion. "I'm so sorry, Mako" She said, her breath painful as a lump worked its way down her throat.

"What for?" Mako asked surprised and scooted his chair a bit closer. "I'm the one who should be sorry."

"Yeah, and you tried to tell me that, but I wouldn't listen. I wouldn't let myself believe that you could still be there for me after… well, after everything. But you were there, even though I told you not to be." Korra looked down as regret kept crushing her like an endless cycle of tidal waves.

Mako leaned in, his face only a few inches from her and said "You are forgetting something, Korra. You may be incredibly stubborn, but so am I. Especially when it comes to you."

Korra tried to suppress a smile, but instead she just let out a short soft chuckle. All humor faded away, however, when Mako hadn't moved away from her. She could feel his warm breath on her cheek and it filled her with comfort she wouldn't otherwise have.

"Look," Mako started and part of her wanted to stop him. Korra didn't know what she was feeling at this particular moment and she was not ready to delve too far into their current relationship problems. She was tired and at the same time she was just relieved that they were alive. Why couldn't they just leave it at that?

Despite all of that, Korra let him continue. He was there for her after all. She could be there for him.

"You were right. It was wrong for me to expect your forgiveness. I'm not going to ask for that anymore. I just wanted to say, that I am so happy that you are going to be okay."

The tears that she tried so hard to fight were unavoidable now as they persisted to trail down her face. Korra, finally doing what she originally wanted to do, took the opportunity of his closeness to lift her hand and caress the bruise on his cheek. Mako winced, expecting pain, but she was gentle and soothing so he just relaxed into it.

"I'm glad that you are too." She breathed and Mako closed his eyes like he was about to drift off. "Hey" Korra said a little louder and his eyes popped open once again. "Come here." She slid a little closer to the side of the bed against the wall and lifted up the covers, motioning him to climb in. "You've been sitting there for spirits knows how long. Come lay down with me."

Mako rose a questioning, but hopeful brow. "Are you sure?"

Korra nodded, but when he still looked unsure, she added. "Things are still confusing, but we're also still here. We have time to figure it out. For now, let's just stay in the moment and rest."

He smiled. It was a smile he rarely shown because it was one that displayed a peaceful side of him that wasn't always present with his brooding nature. Mako gently moved from his seat on the chair to the open spot on the bed and he put an arm around her; trying to hold her close without hurting her injured arm. Korra rested her cheek on his chest, a position she was so familiar with and felt herself aching for in the previous weeks.

She knew that there were still so many things they needed to work out. So many things were said and done that couldn't be suddenly forgotten, and Korra couldn't ignore the fact that she was still hurting. But, as she said, they have time. They survived and Korra knew that they could work it out because it was worth it. After all, she still believed that they were made for each other.

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A/N: Thanks for reading! Feel free to leave a review and let me know if you liked it or not.

And most importantly, ENJOY TONIGHTS EPISODES!


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